The Baschet brothers produced families of exquisite sculptures, starting in 1954, which were designed to be played as instruments - exquisite and exotic instruments whose sounds recall Partch, Analogue synthesisers, the Ondes Martinot, Fred Frith and otherworldly atmospheres impossible to produce except through this specific acoustic concatenation of materials and shapes. In this book their history, the principles of their design, the theory of sound that informed them and a fascinating anecdotal history of their careers and the careers of their designers in many countries and in collaboration with Cocteau, Varese, Schaeffer, Shankar, Cage, Tudor, Menuhin and Takemitusu (who has a piece for the instruments on the CD) are covered, along with 100Õs of photographs and design drawings and a clear meditation on acoustic principles and sonic theory. Another indispensable addition to every library. And not even expensive.